Announcement
by BearGra
Summary: DG has something to tell the people of the O.Z. while Cain reflects on the past few annuals.  Post miniseries.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything related to Tin Man except for the DVD.

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><p>"Cain happy."<p>

Raw's voice startled Cain out of his reverie and sent blood rushing to his face. He could only imagine what the viewer had picked up from him reliving a rather entertaining evening with his wife. The memory of it made him feel happy all right; just not in in a way he was comfortable sharing with anyone but DG.

He didn't have a chance to tell the fur ball to mind his own business as the sound of his wife's voice boomed from the loud speaker set up in front of Central City Palace.

He stepped up to his place by her side on the dais while his youngest son continued his favorite pastime of drooling on his shoulder lost in the midst of a dream. The kid could sleep anywhere, especially after the big meal he'd gotten from his mama inside the palace moments before. Even in front of a crowd composed of thousands of cheering Ozians, he remained blissfully asleep. He got that from his mother.

As his wife went on about the new projects being instituted around the Zone, his eyes glazed over and he focused on a particularly good memory of when he'd discovered what a heavy sleeper DG was...

A flustered Raw quickly left the dais overheard to be muttering softly, "Sometime Raw think he do it on purpose."


	2. Chapter 2

It was Raw who had discovered that she was carrying the first time.

DG hadn't been far along enough to even get morning sickness when he told her to be more careful on the motorcycle Glitch had built for her, at least for the next few months anyway. "Should be careful. Many falls not good for cub."

Wyatt had been beside her when Raw had made that proclamation and they'd both had the same instant reaction – absolute terror.

He, terrified of creating another family while still in the process of rebuilding his last one and she just ascended to the throne of a kingdom she couldn't remember but for a few scattered memories from her early childhood.

They'd lain in bed that night, her head on his chest with their hands locked together low over her belly. They hadn't spoken much during the day, the news of the baby still being processed by their overwhelmed minds.

This quiet contemplation went on for what seemed like hours until she lifted her face to his and their eyes met. Matching grins slowly spread over their faces and the sound of their laughter rang throughout the chamber.

Neither of them slept much that night.

When he thought about it, they hardly slept more than an hour or two any night they learned she was pregnant.

They were four of the happiest nights of his life.


	3. Chapter 3

In most cases if you had to do something you absolutely detested over and over again, it usually got a little easier each time.

Not so much with Wyatt Cain's current predicament.

This was the millionth or so time that he'd been paraded in front of the O.Z. in the past five annuals. He'd gotten accustomed to most of the pomp and circumstance and had never lost his respect with all the traditions that went along with the royal family, except for this one.

If he got one more saucy wink from an old lady, or if one more guy pounded his shoulder that his son wasn't drooling on at the moment, he might just have to pull out his six shooter, grab DG and make a run for it.

As it was, he was stuck standing on a dais in front of the palace in Central City waiting for the whole damned thing to be over with and he was loathe to disturb his son from his nap while his mother was about to wrap up her address to the people and ignite the firestorm that would have his back bruised for a week.

"And so I thank you all for your hard work and sacrifices over the past four annuals. Because of each and every one of you the O.Z. back on track."

_Here it comes_ he thought as the cheers erupted and then quieted in expectation of more words from their Queen…

"We've learned to look to each other as family, a family of all Ozians taking care of one another, helping each other get back on our feet as we learn to walk again without the weight of the Sorceress. Babies have been born in the past few annuals who will never know her terrible rein yet will continue the work we have left undone. It is with great joy and pride that I tell you that there will be another member of the House of Gayle in a few months time, a prince or princess who will love their homeland as much as each of you."

_There_ it was.

The crowd went NUTS.

DG had to announce each of her pregnancies to the people of the O.Z. as part of some unwritten rule of royalty, and she liked it just about as much as him, although she came out of the whole process without being manhandled….a fact he was insanely jealous about.

The first time they'd had to do this he'd almost had a panic attack from the crowd swarming around him. Since the time in the suit he'd experienced mild cases of claustrophobia and he still had some issues with strangers touching him. He'd gone without touch for annuals, he'd forgotten what it was like until he'd broken down and started courting DG. By the time she was pregnant he had thought himself cured…until he'd been swarmed by hundreds if not thousands of his countrymen wanting to shake his hand or hug him outright.

This was the fourth time they'd made this announcement and with each the crowd had grown more boisterous and more speculative as they all wondered the same thing…would it be another prince or would they finally receive a daughter of light?

Everyone had expected their first child to be a girl, in fact he and DG hadn't planned on anything else. No member of the House of Gayle in over a thousand annuals had born a son. He'd been dumbstruck as Raw had handed him a screaming baby boy that long cold night four years ago. He could still hear Jeb's hysterical laughter ringing out in the sitting room just outside where DG lay joyfully exhausted after the delivery when she'd told him the news.

"She's never done a single thing according to plan in all the time you've known her Dad, why'd you expect it to be any different this time?" were his first born's words of wisdom.

He couldn't disagree with him.

His wife defied all dictates of tradition twice more giving Cain a total of three sons. Three boys who'd thawed out and completely owned what was left of his weathered rusty heart that didn't already belong to their mama and Jeb.

He knew the people were anxious for a girl. After all, only a daughter of light could sit on the throne. DG had laughed at him when he'd confessed to her in bed one night he was grateful he had sons before a daughter because if she turned out to be anything like her mother he'd need all the extra muscle he could get.


End file.
